The past 2 weeks

Birthday Postscript
I thank my family, friends (online and non online), co-workers and even strangers who kindly expressed their greetings in different forms. I received free meals from the RSL Club and Dolphins Club and have enjoyed them on the weekend.

Ray's Graduation
It was a no-frills affair, they just had to wear their school uniform so expenses went to parent's clothes and accessories and of course to the dinner. It started at 6PM with an hour of catholic mass offered to the graduates.

Some of my favourite liturgy songs were sung which made it more meaningful- they were Shine Jesus Shine, Christ be our Light, Sign of Faith and The River (the last one I have to give a special mention to Ray's classmate, Gabriel for singing it so beautifully!). After the mass at the Hall - there were 313 graduates and 2 guests each- we moved over to the Bingo Hall where we were greeted with beautiful floral arrangements of real flowers in Nudgee colours (blue and white), the big hall infront of an over that was used during the Olympic Games in 2000- was transformed into a banquet room with table settings for 4 families. We shared ours with a Polish, Japanese and Australian families.
Finger food, dinner and dessert were served in between presentation of senior students.
The culmination was the formation of 2 lines by the graduates, one line facing the other on half the side of the hall. Then they were made to shake hands and say 'see you later'. This last part was chilling- emotions charged as some of these boys are mostly boarders who had been in this school for a solid 5 years and suddenly they are saying 'goodbye' to people they have spent most of their 5 years with...The handshakes became hugs, tears falling,

Ray was mugged- literally- some of the taller friends even carried him hahaha! this took more than an hour as parents waited and shared the emotions of their sons who are now called MEN of Nudgee.



Today, Saturday the 24th of November is Election Day

David and I are going to Brunswick Street today to for our monthly Asian shopping. Before we do that, we shall cast our votes and by tomorrow we will or we will not have a new Prime Minister. It's a choice between John Howard or Kevin Rudd. Who shall I vote for? I'd just say that I am an Economist (that's true! hehehehe) and I've never seen a country grow from strength to strength ever since taking over after the great market crash in 1987. Do I want more economic growth or not? How did the present government benefit me? I asked my workmate who wanted a change- OK, if there will be a new Prime Minister, what changes would you like done? Reply- I don't care- for as long as there is a change....


The next blog will tell you who is the Prime Minister of Australia. You'll probably hear it first on the news...

Have a great weekend!

Intermission blog

While organising my thoughts and photos for the next blog, here are some jokes that my cousin from Sydney shared which sent me cracking up...laughing... will be visiting your 'homes' on Wednesday as I am feeling a bit tired after all the barrage of activities I did last week. I composed whis blog on yahoo and will transfer it over to Multiply for the benefit of all friends

BIRTH ORDER OF CHILDREN

1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy.


2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.


3rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes.
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Preparing for the Birth:
1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.


2nd baby: You don't bother because you remember that last time, breathing didn't do a thing.


3rd baby : You ask for an epidural in your eighth month.
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The Layette :


1st baby: You pre -wash newborn's clothes, colour-coordinate them, and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau.


2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and discard only the ones with the darkest stains.


3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?
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Worries:
1st baby: At the first sign of distress--a whimper, a frown--you pick up the baby


2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten to wake your firstborn.


3rd baby: You teach your three-year-old how to rewind the mechanical swing.
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Pacifier:
1st baby: If the pacifier falls on the floor, you put it away until you c an go home and wash and boil it.


2nd baby: When the pacifier falls on the floor, you squirt it off with some juice from the baby's bottle.


3rd baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in.
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Diapering:
1st baby: You change your baby's diapers every hour, whether they need it or not.


2nd baby: You change their diaper every two to three hours, if needed.


3rd baby: You try to change their diaper before others start to complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees.


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Activities:
1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing, and Baby Story Hour.


2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.


3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaner.
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Going Out:
1st b aby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter, you call home five times.


2nd baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave a number where you can be reached.


3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood.
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At Home:
1st baby: You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.


2nd baby: You spend a bit of everyday watching to be sure your older child isn't squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.


3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children.
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Swallowing Coins (a favorite):
1st child: When first child swallows a coin, you rush the child to the hospital and demand x-rays


2nd child: When second child swallows a coin, you carefully watch for the coin to pass.


3rd child: When third child swallows a coin you deduct it from his allowance!
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Pass this on to everyone you know who has children . . . or everyone who KNOWS someone who has had children . .. (The older the mother, the funnier this is!)

GRANDCHILDREN:God's reward for allowing your children to live


Feel free to copy/paste it for your friends.

my birthday 11/11/2007

Vivian arrived- had coffee and whatever was available to eat
for lunch we headed down the club..had a pose infront- wreaths were laid for remembrance day in australia
the venue- kedron wavell services club
waiting at the foyer of the coral sea smorgasborad resto
what i ate- a salad
back home with the cake and a candle- with the hubby
with the darling daughter
with the youngest one who can't wait to eat the cake
they didn't want to burn the tiramisu and caramel cheesecake so i just blew one candle
now after eating all the food we can eat,we sat down infront of the tv goofing around and finally watching Mr Bean- the Holiday in France which was really funny.

another birthday- another year- looking fwd to the next one..thank you all for your good wishes

When David and I went to the Gold Coast

The Gold Coast is one hour and a half driving from home. Since we prefer it to be stress-free from driving, we decided to park the car in Sandgate Station and take the train instead. The train passes through the city of Brisbane (the capital of the state of Queensland). We decided to stop over and get on the next train to be able to visit Brisbane and the vicinity. Brissie (nickname of Brisbane) has nice buildings such as this-

When I used to work in Brissie (I've transferred base to the suburbia) I go through this old building which is actually the Post Office. Inside the building is a news agent (sells stationery, books, newspapers and magazines) the toilets, phone booths and mailboxes. Through the building is the catholic church called St Stephens (will be featured next time)

From Brissie we finally took the train to the Gold Coast (GC) and of course our first stop is the beautiful beach called the Surfer's Paradise-and it is just what it's called. The solitary seagull- a very friendly bird always waiting for the left over food.

Australia has very very blue skies. While David enjoys a sit by the boardwalk in the beach, I enjoy looking at various architectures such as this French Riviera building below.

Time to rest from lots of walking and below you can see Woolworths on the background- it's a grocery/supermarket with branches in most suburbs and a place we frequent to get our grocery needs.

After some food and a rest we proceeded to walk to the casino. A visit to the GC is not complete without going through the casino either for food, to gamble or just hang around the foyer.

The one and only casino in the GC is called Conrad Jupiters and it is part of the Hilton Group. We picked up a bit of money so we went across the road because it happens to be the biggest shopping complex in the GC- The Pacific Fair!

David's worn out shoes need a replacement- he is deciding between the black and the brow boots...there was a big sale so it's a great shopping time.

He decided on the brown!

I did my bit- some shirts for the folks back in the Phils

Thank God the kids were are school so we didn't have to go inside this shop!

On the way home, we took the bus that will take us to the train station to head back home.

Goodbye GC for now..while on the bus I contemplate about the outing and what to cook for tea as soon as we get home...
it was a relaxing day, away from home on a recreational leave from our hectic work schedules.

Ray Finishes High School in 12 days!

It's been a big journey for Ray transferring from a co-educational state school to an all boys catholic private school on his final year in high school. He did survive and he will soon finish high school in 12 days time. The culmination of their high school year is a Senior Valedictory mass and dinner to be attended by parents/guardians.

Next post will feature Ray's journey in his last year of school. It is a significant chapter of his life and also ours as we look forward to another chapter of his educational achievement.

This song was sang during their awards night -

this is Sammy when not fishing

He spends a lot of time with his family

and with wife Lani if he is not working

They love to go swimming somewhere around Florida

It's a great life for SamThese guys are lucky as they get to eat the fish that Sam fishes out of the water. As to what kind of water he fishes the fishes from ..i do not have any idea.

Hey Sam- now I have made up for not posting something on your -th bday last 16 september ..but you were thought with fondness and i had a beer for you LOLs..now my bday is coming soon so don't forget my birthday on armistice day OK? jokinnnnng!